Miniature model skirmish game mechanic

ABSTRACT

A fantasy role-playing game mechanic method for resolving game actions between game components having associate dynamic assets provides each player with a deck of numbered cards. The player attempting an action involving the game component modifies the dynamic asset value of the game component by selecting a card from the deck and adding the number value of the card to the dynamic asset value of the game component and compares the modified dynamic asset value with a predetermined target number to determine the result of the attempted action. Players can “cheat fate” by drawing cards from the deck to form a control hand, with the player having the option of replacing the selected first card from the deck with a card from the control hand and recalculating the modified dynamic asset value using the card from the control hand.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a game mechanic for character drivenfantasy skirmish games including miniature models with specific dynamicassets which influence game play decisions and action resolutions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The general class of role playing games encompasses a wide genre ofcharacter driven games wherein players interact via proxy characters.One variety of role playing games are miniature model “skirmish” gamesin which players control competing/cooperative factions with theindividual members of each faction represented by miniature models whichinteract on a game board providing a character interaction area havingterrain features thereon.

The present invention is a game mechanic for such miniature model-basedskirmish games. These games are generally contested by two or moreplayers, each of whom controls a crew of miniature model figures. A gameboard, modifiable by various terrain elements, provides the territoryover which the models interact. A set of dynamic assets are associatedwith the models and terrain features, and are used to influence theoutcome of game interactions. In order to provide an element ofunpredictability, it is conventional for players to roll one or moredice, or to utilize other random number generators, with the generatednumber, in cooperation with the value of the dynamic asset(s),determining the outcome of the interaction. A set of rules governs thedetermination of outcomes for the various combinations of dynamic assetsand possible dice rolls.

For example, a typical interaction is an attack by one model againstanother, with the relevant dynamic assets being an attacker's attackrating, a defender's defense rating, and an attack modifier based on thenature of the terrain upon which the battle takes place. The attackrating is compared with the defense rating, and the result is modifiedif necessary by terrain. A table is generally provided for players tolook up the number and type of dice to roll, and the correspondence ofthe rolled numbers to the different possible outcomes. In this example,the rules could be that a comparison number is generated by 1)subtracting the defender's defense rating from the attacker's attackrating, 2) subtracting 2 if the terrain is swampland, and 3) adding 10,with a defender required to roll a number greater than or equal to theresulting number, with a 20 sided die, in order to successfully defendagainst the attack. If, for example, the attacker's attack rating is 10and the defender's defense rating is 15, and the conflict is takingplace on swamp terrain, the defender would have to roll a 3 or higherwith the 20 sided die, for a 90% probability of the defendersuccessfully defending. Alternatively, if the attack rating were 14, thedefense rating 8, with no terrain modifier, the defender would need toroll a 16 or higher, resulting in a 25% probability that the defenderwould successfully defend against the attack.

The use of dice or other random number generators, while adding anelement of uncertainty, is not entirely satisfactory for severalreasons. First, it adds uncertainty through the generation of a randomnumber, but it does not increase the strategic or tactical complexity ofthe game, features highly desired by fantasy gamers. Second, manyplayers find the use of dice disruptive, with a multitude of possibleoptions regarding the number of dice thrown, the number of sides on eachdie, and the value required to achieve a particular result. As a result,players spend much time consulting rule books and tables rather thanactually playing the game, causing excessively slow and disrupted gameplay. It is also often the case that, over the course of the game, oneplayer will be exceptionally lucky or unlucky with regard to rolling thedice, leading to player frustration and a feeling that the game wasdecided by the dice, not the players. The frequent rolling of dice,sometimes two or three at a time, can be annoying, particularly as theytend to bounce and roll where they are not desired, such as onto thefloor or into the gaming area. There is thus a need for a miniaturemodel skirmish game mechanic which, while adding an element ofuncertainty, is generally equitable to all players, provides additionalstrategic and tactical player decisions which influence the outcome ofgame interactions, and simplifies and speeds up game play.

OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Wherefore, it is an object of the present invention to overcome theaforementioned problems and drawbacks associated with the game mechanicscurrently known in the art.

Another object of the invention is to provide a game mechanic whichprovides an element of randomness without requiring the user to usedice.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a game mechanicfor determining the result of an attempted action by a game playerincluding: providing the player with a deck of numbered cards; assigninga dynamic asset value to a game component; the player attempting anaction involving the game component, the result of the action governedby relative values of the dynamic asset value of the game component anda predetermined target number for the attempted action; the playercalculating a modified dynamic asset value of the game component byselecting a first card from the deck and adding the number value of thefirst card to the dynamic asset value of the game component; andcomparing the modified dynamic asset value with the target number todetermine the result of the attempted action.

The present invention relates to a game mechanic wherein the playerdraws a number of cards from the deck to form a control hand held by theplayer and the player has the option of cheating fate by replacing theselected first card from the deck with a card from the control hand andrecalculating the modified dynamic asset value using the card from thecontrol hand.

The present invention also relates to a game mechanic wherein the playeris provided a number of markers and the player has the option ofselecting a second card from the deck and adding the value of the secondselected card to the modified dynamic asset value in return for theplayer discarding a marker.

The present invention further relates to a game mechanic which requiresthe player to select one or more additional cards from the deck, thefirst selected card and the one or more additional cards forming a cardpool, and the player is required to use either the lowest value card orthe highest value card in the card pool to calculate the modifieddynamic asset value.

The present invention further relates to a game mechanic that providesfor the suit or value of a card triggering events that affect game playbased on character talents and association of characters or groups ofcharacters.

The present invention further relates to a game mechanic method fordetermining the result of an attempted action by a game player,comprising the steps of providing the player with a deck having aplurality of numbered cards, assigning a dynamic asset value to a gamecomponent, the player attempting an action involving the game component,the result of the action governed by relative values of the dynamicasset value of the game component and a predetermined target number forthe attempted action, the player calculating a modified dynamic assetvalue of the game component by selecting a first card from the deck andadding the number value of the first card to the dynamic asset value ofthe game component, and comparing the modified dynamic asset value withthe target number to determine the result of the attempted action.

A game mechanic method for playing a game contested by a plurality ofplayers, comprising the steps of providing a playing surface, providingeach player with a deck of cards, each deck having similarly numberedcards, providing each player with control over one or more miniaturemodel figures, assigning one or more dynamic asset values to eachminiature model figure, each player deploying their miniature modelfigures on the playing surface, each player drawing a plurality of cardsfrom their deck to form a control hand, at least one player initiatingan interaction between a first model and a second model, the interactiongoverned by a dynamic asset of the first model and a dynamic asset ofthe second model, the player having control over the first modelselecting a first card from their deck and adding the number value ofthe first card to the dynamic asset value of the first model to producean initial modified first dynamic asset value, the player having controlover the second model selecting a first card from their deck and addingthe number value of the first card to the dynamic asset of the secondmodel to produce an initial modified second dynamic asset value, andcomparing the initial modified first dynamic asset value with theinitial modified second dynamic asset value to determine a preliminaryresult of the interaction, according to a predetermined correspondencebetween possible results of the interaction and the magnitude ofdifference between the initial modified first dynamic asset value andthe initial modified second dynamic asset value.

These and other features, advantages and improvements according to thisinvention will be better understood by reference to the followingdetailed description and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with referenceto the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating a general overview of the gameprocess;

FIG. 2A is a flow chart illustrating the process of obtaining a resultbased on a card flip and a lookup table which associates card valueswith possible outcomes;

FIG. 2B is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of the invention forgenerating the encounter conditions;

FIG. 3A is a top view of game area;

FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the game area of FIG. 3A;

FIG. 4A is a top view of a game area showing diagonal deployment areas;

FIG. 4B is a top view of a game area showing opposite side deploymentareas;

FIG. 4C is a top view of a game area showing corner deployment areas;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing a sequence of actions;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing a sequence of actions in an unopposedduel; and

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing a sequence of actions.

PARTS LIST

-   -   10 Game area    -   20 Trees    -   30 Fence    -   40 Stone wall    -   50 Building    -   100 Players agree on encounter conditions    -   110 Maximum number of control cards    -   120 Maximum number of masters in crew    -   130 Maximum number of markers in pool    -   200 Generate encounter conditions    -   201 Initiative flip    -   202 Winner's flip    -   203 Lookup chart or table    -   204 Apply result from 203    -   205 Location lookup table    -   206 Terrain Placement    -   207 Deployment area lookup table    -   208 Dual flip    -   210 Determine encounter area    -   211 Diagonal deployment areas    -   212 Opposite side deployment areas    -   213 Corners deployment area    -   220 Determine strategies    -   221 Strategy lookup table    -   230 Hire/Deploy Crews    -   231 Hire Crews    -   232 Deploy Crews    -   240 Select and announce schemes    -   300 Players contest encounter    -   310 Movement sequence    -   320 Attack sequence    -   330 Casting sequence    -   400 Winner determination    -   500 Identify target model    -   510 Verify line of sight    -   520 Attack fails    -   530 Verify target within range    -   540 Duel sequence    -   550 Attack succeeds    -   560 Activate triggers    -   570 Calculate damage    -   600 Unopposed duel sequence    -   610 Target number determination    -   620 Flip attack card    -   630 Starting total calculated    -   640 Cheat fate    -   650 Replace card    -   660 Bribe fate    -   670 Discard marker and draw card    -   680 Final total calculated    -   690 Final total greater than target number    -   700 Opposed duel sequence    -   710 Calculate AST and DST    -   720 AST greater than DST    -   730 Attacker is leader, defender is trailer    -   735 Defender is leader, attacker is trailer    -   740 Does trailer cheat fate    -   750 Replace flipped card with control card    -   760 Does trailer bribe fate    -   770 Discard marker, draw card, add to ST    -   780 Does leader cheat fate    -   790 Does leader bribe fate    -   800 AFT greater than DFT

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Turning initially to FIG. 1, the present invention relates to aminiature model skirmish game mechanic. Speaking generally, the processfor setting up and playing a game, or encounter, comprises foursequential steps, discussed in detail below. First, the players agree onthe encounter conditions 100, they then generate the encounter area 200,contest the encounter 300 on the encounter area according to the agreedupon encounter conditions, then determine the winner 400 of theencounter. Rather than utilizing dice as random number generators, thepresent invention uses a deck of cards to resolve game events. Many gamesetup and game play events, such as determining initiatives, damage,spellcasting, healing and the like, are influenced by the cards. Thecards generally have one side which is identical for all cards, with theother side having representations of a numerical value and a suit,similarly to a standard deck of cards. It is preferred that the deckconsists of four suits, each having cards numbered sequentially from 1to 13, with two wild cards. The wild cards can be valued at 0 and 14. Asthese decks of cards are instrumental in determining the outcome ofvarious game events, they are sometimes referred to as “fate decks.” Thewild cards, or jokers, are often referred to as a “red joker” and a“black joker,” and represent magic at its highest point and lowest ebb,respectively, with the red joker having a value of 14 and any possiblesuit and the black joker having a value of 0 and no suit.

The cards are used in several manners. First, each player draws a setnumber of cards from the deck to form their “control hand” whichgenerally represents how effective the crew is at manipulating magic.The cards in the control hand are referred to as “control cards” and thecontrol hands will generally have 6 or 7 cards. Game events are resolvedby having the player turn over the top card in the deck and applying thevalue of the card to the event. The control cards can be used, forexample, to further influence the outcome of a game event, or to “cheatfate,” by replacing a flipped card with a control card when thesituation allows. Thus, the control hand represents a player resourcerequiring tactical decision-making by the player in order to mosteffectively employ.

In addition to using the value of the cards to help resolve game events,the different suits also affect game play. For example, a deck havingfour different suits could have each suit associated with a differentfaction of characters within the fantasy world, with each factiondrawing power from a different source of magic and having different setsof talents. Certain actions and triggering events during the game can beaffected by any selected card in a player's control hand, and othersonly by cards bearing the character's faction's suit. The choice ofcards for the control suit thus provides player options balancingpotentially competing desires for both high cards and suited cards.

Players begin by agreeing on the game conditions 100 which determine thesize of the encounter. These conditions include: the maximum size ofeach player's control hand 110; the maximum number of crew members120,including masters and minions; the maximum size of each player's markerpool 130; and the total number of schemes permitted each player. Theterm ‘scrap” generally refers to an encounter wherein the control handshave about 6 cards, each crew has one master, the marker pool has amaximum size of about 45, and each player can have up to 2 schemes inaddition to the main objective (strategy). A “brawl” refers to a larger,longer encounter, for example, wherein the control hands have about 7cards, each crew has 2 or more masters, the total marker pool can beabout 30 to about 70, and the players can have up to 3 schemes inaddition to the main objective. The strategies and schemes havepre-assigned point values, with points available for partial or completeaccomplishment.

After the players agree on the conditions 100 for game size, thephysical manifestation of the encounter is generated 200. This generallyconsists of determining the nature of the encounter area 210, the crewstrategies 220, the identity and deployment of the crew members 230, andthe selection and announcing of secondary schemes 240.

Once the schemes have been selected and announced, the encounter begins300. An encounter 300, or game, consists of a number of turns in whichthe players alternate activating individual models until all sides haveactivated their entire crew, with games generally consisting of six ormore turns, or any other number agreed upon by the players. Each turnhas three phases, draw, activation and closing. Once a closing phase ofa turn is completed, the next turn commences or the encounter concludes.During the encounter, various game effects start, occur and end atspecific phases of the turn. The timing of effects can be at any pointin the draw, activation and closing phases of the turn. Within theactivation sequence, during which most of the game action takes place,models can be directed to take any action allowable by the rules, forexample, an activation sequence can include one or more of a movementsequence 310, an attack sequence 320 and a casting sequence 330. Certainmodels or game effects optionally allow additional movement 310, attack320 and casting sequences 330.

After the specified number of turns has been played, a winner isdetermined 400 by adding together each crew's total points earned duringthe encounter 300. These points include any points for completingstrategies 220 and schemes 240, and any other measurable game results asagreed upon in advance by the players.

As many actions during the game require one player to have initiative, astandard method for determining initiative is required. FIG. 2Aillustrates a sequence for generating results used regularly throughoutthe game, and particularly during the encounter generation 200 phase ofthe game. Each player flips over the top card in their deck, with thehighest (or lowest, as previously agreed upon) card giving that playerthe initiative. If both players flip the same value card, they flipagain until different value cards are revealed. This process is referredto herein as “flipping for initiative” 201. The term “flip” means aplayer turning over, and revealing, the top card in their deck. Theplayer winning the initiative takes the action. Shown in FIG. 2A is aninitiative flip 201 followed by the winner flipping the next card in thedeck 202, which is immediately used in conjunction with a lookup chartor table 203. The value and or suit of the card is found in the lookuptable 203, and the specified result is applied 204.

FIG. 2B illustrates in detail the process of generating an encounter. Asa preliminary step, each player shuffles their deck of cards. Theplayers can optionally flip for initiative 201 a, with the winnerflipping 202 a for location in which the encounter takes place, asspecified by a location lookup list 205. The location is determined by apredetermined correspondence between the card values and possiblelocations, for example, villages, bogs, swamps, ruins, mountains, citiesand whatever other type of setting the players agree to in advance. Ifthe location flip 202 a is one of the two wild cards in the deck, onejoker generally gives the flipping player their choice of location whilethe other joker gives the opposing player choice of location.

Next, the players again flip for initiative 201 b, then alternateplacing 206 location appropriate terrain elements on the game area. FIG.3A is a top view of a typical game area 10 having various terrainelements emplaced thereon. FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the gamearea shown in FIG. 3A. The terrain elements include trees 20, a fence30, a stone wall 40 and a building 50. The game area is generally anarea from about 3 feet by 3 feet to 4 feet by 4 feet, although anyagreed-upon size for the encounter area can be employed. When placingterrain elements, the players alternate placing one or more terrainelements. The players continue alternating placing terrain elementsuntil one player decides not to place any more elements, at which pointthe other player has the option to make an additional placement, atwhich point the physical encounter area is complete.

Returning to FIG. 2B, the players next flip 202 b to determine thedeployment areas in which the players will deploy their respectivecrews, with the flipping player determined by an initiative flip 201 c,if necessary. As with the location determination, the specificdeployment areas are listed in a lookup table 207, each represented bydifferent card values, with the two wild cards giving choice ofdeployment areas to one or the other player. FIG. 4A, FIG. 4B and FIG.4C illustrate deployment areas on the game area 10 which are diagonals211, opposite sides 212 and corners 213, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 2B, each player then flips 208 a to determine theircrew's primary objective, or strategy, using a strategy lookup table221. It is referred to herein as a “dual flip” when each player flips acard from their deck and the order of flipping does not affect theresult. This term is intended to cover situations involving more thantwo players. Strategies include, for example, “treasure hunt,”“assassinate,” “slaughter” and “claim jump,” with the jokers giving theplayer their choice of strategy. Each player's strategy is revealed toall other players.

Once the encounter area has been completed and the players' strategiesdetermined, each player chooses, or hires their crew 231, for theencounter, within the limitations agreed to by the players in settingthe encounter conditions as described above. Each crew consists of oneor more Masters, who are generally the crew leaders, and one or moreMinions to do the Master's bidding. Masters are typically the strongest,most versatile and most magical characters in the crew, and come with aspecified number of markers, the general currency used in the encounter.The markers can be called by any fanciful name appropriate to the genre,for example, “soulstones.” Each player selects at least one Master. TheMaster hires Minions by removing markers from the player's marker pool.Players can hire as many Minions as their markers allow. Minions havegreat variety in physical and magical power, with corresponding varietyin their cost. After hiring Minions, the Masters' markers are combinedwith any unspent markers to form the crew's starting marker pool.Optionally, these starting marker pools can have a prearranged maximumsize, for example, 8 for scraps and 10 for brawls. The markers, inconjunction with the control cards, provide the player with a broadrange of unique strategic, tactical and resource management optionsduring game play.

Each crew Master and Minion has a set of actions points and otherattributes which determine their strategic and tactical advantages inmovement, attack, and casting and other actions. Each crew also has adefense rating that determines their ability to avoid and withstandattacks. The players' respective crews are then deployed 232 in theselected deployment areas, with the players flipping for initiative 201d to determine the first player to deploy a crew's model. Players canalternate deploying models or can agree otherwise, for example, to havethe player with initiative place all their models first. Each playerplaces all members of their crew within the designated deployment area.

After the crews are deployed, the players can optionally select andannounce one or more schemes 240, or secondary objectives, up to apredetermined maximum, for example, 2 for scraps and 3 for brawls. Theplayers can keep the schemes secret until completed, or they canannounce schemes to the other players after crew deployment. Privateschemes earn a set number of Victory Points, while announced schemesearn bonus points.

Once the schemes have been selected and announced, the encounter begins.An encounter, or game, consists of a number of turns in which theplayers alternate activating individual models until all sides haveactivated their entire crew. Games generally consist of six or moreturns. Each turn has three phases, draw, activation and closing. Once aclosing phase of a turn is completed, the next turn commences or theencounter concludes. During the encounter, various game effects start,occur and end at specific phases of the turn. The timing of effects canbe at any point in the draw, activation and closing phases of the turn.

Draw Phase

At the beginning of the draw phase, any player having more cards thanthe maximum allowed, usually 6 or 7, must discard control cards untilthey have no more than the maximum number. The players then have theoption to discard any cards in their control hand. Finally, the playersdraw cards into their control hands until the maximum number is reached.In the first round, the players simply draw their control hands. Thecontrol hands are kept hidden by the players as a strategic asset.

Activation Phase

The activation phase is where the game action occurs, as the playersalternate activating the models in order to achieve their objectives.The activation order in which the players activate the models isdetermined by a flip for initiative, with each player turning over thetop card of their deck. The ordered value of the cards, from highest tolowest, is the activation order of the players, from first to last,respectively. If any of the cards are tied, all players re-flip untilall the cards have different values. At this point, the player with thelowest value card has the option to discard a marker and re-flip (turnover the next card in the deck to replace their first initiative card).Each of the players, in order from lowest initial initiative card tohighest, has one opportunity to spend a marker in order to re-flip theirinitiative card. If any players have tied values, the tied playersre-flip and all players have the option to pay a marker and re-flipagain. The process continues until all players have different valuecards and the activation is ordered from highest card to lowest with theplayer with the highest value taking a first turn.

Once the activation order then controls the taking of turns by otherplayers. Following the activation order, activating one of their modelsand using all of its action points available for the turn, until allmodels have been activated. The action points encompass the modelsability to move, attack, cast, and various other actions. Once all of aplayer's models have completed their activations, the remaining playersskip that player in the order, if they have remaining unactivatedmodels. Some models may be activatable more than once per round, andsome models may be activated simultaneously. After all models have beenactivated and have completed all of their actions for that turn, theactivation phase of that turn ends and the closing phase of that turnbegins.

Closing Phase

The players collect all the cards which are not in their control handand shuffle them in the control deck for re-use in the next turn. Thecontrol hand is not shuffled back into the deck. At the end of theclosing phase a turn ends and either the game ends or the playerscontinue to a subsequent turn and repeat the draw, activation andclosing phases. A game may end based on a set number of turns or onpredetermined set of conditions or one or more specific objectives asagreed on in advance by the players.

The ratings associated with models, weapons and terrain are dynamicassets which can be modified under specifically defined conditions, forexample, by certain effects during gameplay. Weapons and characters havespecifically defined talents, including special abilities, triggers andactions. These talents can be unique to a particular character or can beshared by different characters, either in the same faction or indifferent factions. Each faction preferably has their own exclusive setof common talents related to their particular source of magic.

Abilities are talents which are always considered active during the gameand are applied whenever called for in the rules. They are generallymodifications to the standard action resolution procedures, but can alsoinvolve separate additional actions which occur under specificconditions. An example of an ability is Hard to Wound 1, Hard to Wound 2and Hard to Wound 3, in which a damage flip against the model receives−1, −2 and −3 “twists,” respectively. That is, one, two or threeadditional cards are flipped along with the damage flip, and the lowestcard is chosen. Another example is Slow to Die, which allows a model toimmediately take another action before being removed from play.

Triggers are talents that require certain conditions to occur, includingan activating event and one or more suits in the model's Duel total,before its game effect begins. When the trigger is reached, the playerdeclares their intention to use the trigger and then applies itseffects. A model can only activate one trigger during an action or inresponse to an event. As with other talents, triggers can be unique toparticular characters, shared by unrelated characters or common withinfactions. An example of a trigger common to a faction is Flay, an effectexclusive to members of a faction drawing their magical power from asource associated with control, deception, defense and speed. When amodel from this faction damages a defender with a melee strike, the Flayevent is triggered and damage to the defender is automatically increasedby a factor of for example 2. Triggers can be as complex as desired bygame designers. For example, the unique trigger Entangle occurs when thecharacter having the trigger damages a defender touching a forestterrain piece using a claw strike. Because of the Entangle event, thedefender is slowed and must end any further moves by touching the forestterrain piece. The trigger attributes held by a character results inincreased strategy and maneuvers to advantage one character over anotheras resultant events are triggered or in avoidance of confrontation withcharacters having known trigger attributes.

Actions are, in essence, what the player instructs the models to do infurtherance of the objectives and schemes. During the activation phase amodel is activated and is able to take one or more actions, up to thelimit of the model's action points. Actions can include, for example,general actions, movement related actions, combat related actions andmagic related actions. General actions are available to all modelswhereas specific actions are available only to certain individual orclasses of models. For example, actions such as walk, interact and passare general actions, while search is available to graverobbers andscavengers only and heal is only available to models able to usemarkers. Other actions include, for example, Strike, Charge, Cast,Channel, Drain Souls, Defensive Stance, Focus, Climb and Jump. Eachaction has a defined number of action points required for itsinitiation. In addition to the base number of action points each modelstarts with, certain talents and effects can modify this number up ordown. For example, the effects Fast, Slow, Paralyzed and Reactivatemodify the models action points (+1, −1, −all and restore all,respectively).

A model's movement rating is a quantified dynamic asset indicating themaximum distance it is able to travel. For example, a model having a“(1) Walk” rating of 7 is able to walk up to 7 units for every 1 actionpoint used. Units are any agreed upon measure of length, for example, 1inch or 1 centimeter. Other movement ratings can be employed as desiredand as appropriate, for example Charge or Run, or for characters havingspecial mobility abilities such as Flight and Float.

Models have other dynamic assets which help define the character andaffect gameplay. Typical dynamic assets include, for example, Height(Ht), which generally represents the size of the character, affectingline-of-sight actions. Willpower (Wp) indicates the model's strength ofwill, determination and self-control. Casting (Ca) measures the model'smagical ability, for example, used in casting spells. A Defense (Df)rating represents the model's ability to avoid attacks and otherwisedefend itself. Wounds (Wd) is the amount of damage a model can sustainbefore being killed. Each model also has a marker value. For masters,the marker value represents the cache of markers which the master addsto the crew's marker pool. For minions, the marker value represents themarker cost that the master must pay to hire the minion.

Weapons also have ratings. Range (Rg) indicates the furthest effectivedistance a weapon can reach. This rating can include separate ratingsfor ranged and melee weapons. Combat (Cb) represents the character'sskill of attack, with higher numbers indicating greater attack skillsand greater probability of successfully hitting another model during anattack. Damage (Dg) indicates an ability to wound, depending on thequality of a hit. For example, an attack could result in a miss or a hitwhich causes weak, moderate or severe damage. In such a scenario, aweapon would have a rating expressed in the form Dg 3/4/6, with 3, 4 and6 being the damage inflicted by a weak, moderate or severe damage hit,respectively. The value of a damage card flipped from the control deckdetermines the severity of the damage inflicted.

Each player has cards in their deck and control cards in their hand, inaddition to their pool of markers. These cards and markers are used tomodify the dynamic assets and resolve game conflicts, and accordinglytheir use presents many strategic and tactical options regarding how andwhen to best utilize them. In most game situations, each player willhave decks with similarly numbered and suited cards. The use ofdifferently numbered and suited decks of cards, however, can also beemployed. For example, suits with different proportions of high and lowcards would provide means for incrementally handicapping players havingdifferent skill levels or crew strengths. The size of the control handsand number of markers in the marker pool can also differ betweenplayers, as determined by the players in setting up the encounter.

FIG. 5 illustrates generally an activation sequence consisting of onemodel attempting an effect on another model, for example, an attacksequence 320 as shown in FIG. 1. The controller for the attacking modelfirst identifies 500 the target and the attempted attack/effect. If theattack/effect requires the target model to be visible from the attackingmodel's point of view, the controller verifies the line of sight 510between the models. The attempt fails 520 if the target is not withinline of sight. The controller next measures the distance between themodels to determine if the target model is within the range 530 of theattack/effect. If the target is not within range, for example, of theweapon or spell, the attempt fails 520. If the target is within range,the success or failure of the attempted attack/effect is determined. Thesuccess or failure of an attempt is determined through a duel sequence540. If the result of the duel sequence is that the attempt issuccessful (a “hit”), the controllers for the models activate allrequired triggers 550 which were tripped by the hit, and calculatedamage 560 caused by the hit.

FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 each illustrate duel sequences. FIG. 6 shows asequence of actions for an “unopposed” duel, while FIG. 7 shows asequence for an “opposed” duel. In an unopposed duel, an attemptedaction or effect is resolved against a set target number, rather thanagainst another model's modifiable dynamic assets. In other words, thedefender's role is passive in unopposed duels. In an opposed duel, thedefender's controller plays a more active role, with opportunities tocheat fate, twist fate, modify dynamic assets and spend markers.

An unopposed, or simple duel 600, as illustrated in FIG. 6, is contestedagainst a set Target Number (TN) 610 as determined by the specific gameconditions. For example, a defending model might have an ability thatrequires an attacking model to win a preliminary Wp (weapon) 12 duel inorder for the attack to progress. In other words, the attacker, usingtheir weapon's attack rating, would have to win an unopposed duelagainst a TN of 12. The player controlling the attacking model flips acard 620 from the deck, and the value of the card is added to the Wp.The player next calculates 630 their Starting Total (ST) by applying anyappropriate modifiers to this combined value. Certain effects andconditions allow the combatants to modify the results. For example, afate “twist” requires the player to flip one or more additional cardsand to choose either the highest or lowest value card from the flippedcards. In this type of modifier, a +2 twist allows the player to fliptwo additional cards and choose which of the total of 3 flipped cards toadd to use. A −2 twist requires the player to choose the lowest of thethree flipped cards. If the ST≧TN, then the attempted action succeeds,otherwise, the attempt is failing. In either event, the player may havefurther options for changing the result.

The player next has an opportunity to “cheat” fate 640 by replacing theoriginally flipped card with any card in the player's control hand 650.A player may also, if the character has a marker and the ability to usemarkers, which generally represents magical ability, “bribe fate” 660 bydiscarding a marker, flipping a second card and adding its value to thetotal 670. Once the players have applied all possible modifications, thefinal attack number is calculated 680 and compared 690 with the targetnumber to determine if the attempt succeeds 550 or fails 520.

An opposed duel 700, as illustrated in FIG. 7, is a contest between anacting model's rating and a defending model's rating. First, each playerflips 208 a card from their control deck, then calculates their startingtotals 710, referred to herein as the AST (attacker's starting total)and the DST (defender's starting total). The AST and DST are calculated710 as described above regarding unopposed duels, with each playerapplying modifiers as required. For example, if a model attacks anothermodel with a weapon, each model's controller flips a card from the deckand adds its numerical value to a dynamic asset, the Combat rating ofthe weapon for the attacker and the Defense rating for the defender. Ifthe AST is greater than or equal to the DST, the attacker is leading730, otherwise the defender is leading 735. Each player then has theopportunity to cheat and/or bribe fate, as described above, with thenon-leading, or trailing, player having the first opportunity. Thetrailing player has the first option, to cheat fate 740 by replacing theflipped card with a card from their control hand 750, then to bribe fate760 by discarding a marker and drawing an additional card 770 to add tothe starting total. A player can employ none, one or both of theseoptions. After the players exercise or pass on all the options to changetheir starting total, their totals are final. After the trailing player,the leading player also has the option to cheat fate 780 or bribe fate790, after which each player has determined their final total. If theAFT (attacker's final total) is greater than or equal to the DFT(defender's final total), the attempt/attack succeeds 550, otherwise theattempt/attack fails 520.

If the attack succeeded, the players go on to determine damage done tothe defender. For this, the final defense rating is subtracted from thefinal attack rating and the difference is the “combat total.” The combattotal determines how many “twists” the attacker's damage flip receives,in order to determine the damage. For example, if the combat total is 0,the attacker receives a −2 twist (three cards are flipped and the lowestcard chosen); if the combat total is between 1 and 5, the attackerreceives a −1 twist (two cards flipped, lowest chosen), between 6 and10, no twists, greater than 11, the attacker receives a +1 twist (twocards flipped, highest card chosen). The final card chosen determinesthe level of damage. The low wild card results in 0 damage, a value of 1to 5 results in weak damage, a value of 6-10 results in moderate damage,and a value greater than 11 results in severe damage. The strong jokerresults in severe damage plus additional damage determined by a seconddamage flip. The damage is applied to the target model, and if thetarget's Wounds rating is reduced to 0 or below, it is killed.

With regard to schemes and strategies, strategies are each faction'smain objective in the game. Strategies for each faction are known to allfactions. Completing a strategy earns a full complement of VictoryPoints (VP) at the end of the game. A partially completed strategy earnsthe player partial VP. Players can also earn VP by completing theirschemes, which are lesser objectives which can be kept secret from otherplayers until they are completed. Alternatively, players can “announce”(make known to the other players) their schemes in advance, in whichcase extra VP are earned if the scheme is completed. The player whoaccumulates the most VP at the end of the game is the winner of theencounter.

Since certain changes may be made in the above described game mechanicwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention hereininvolved, it is intended that all of the subject matter of the abovedescription or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpretedmerely as examples illustrating the inventive concept herein and shallnot be construed as limiting the invention.

1. A game mechanic method for determining the result of an attemptedaction by a game player, comprising the steps of: providing the playerwith a deck having a plurality of numbered cards; assigning a dynamicasset value to a game component; the player attempting an actioninvolving the game component, the result of the action governed byrelative values of the dynamic asset value of the game component and apredetermined target number for the attempted action; the playercalculating a modified dynamic asset value of the game component byselecting a first card from the deck and adding the number value of thefirst card to the dynamic asset value of the game component; andcomparing the modified dynamic asset value with the target number todetermine the result of the attempted action.
 2. The game mechanicmethod of claim 1, further comprising the steps of: the player drawing aplurality of cards from the deck to form a control hand held by theplayer; and the player having the option of cheating fate by replacingthe selected first card from the deck with a card from the control handand recalculating the modified dynamic asset value using the card fromthe control hand.
 3. The game mechanic method of claim 1, furthercomprising the steps of: providing the player with a plurality ofmarkers; and the player having the option of selecting a second cardfrom the deck and adding the value of the second selected card to themodified dynamic asset value in return for the player discarding amarker.
 4. The game mechanic method of claim 1, further comprising thesteps of: requiring the player to select one or more additional cardsfrom the deck, the first selected card and the one or more additionalcards forming a card pool; and the player using one of the lowest valuecard or the highest value card in the card pool to calculate themodified dynamic asset value.
 5. The game mechanic method of claim 2,further comprising the steps of: providing the player with a pluralityof markers; and the player having the option of selecting a second cardfrom the deck and adding the value of the second selected card to themodified dynamic asset value in return for the player discarding amarker.
 6. The game mechanic method of claim 1, wherein the result ofthe attempted action further comprising the steps of: successfullyattacking a second game component; triggering an attribute of the secondgame component requiring the player to select one or more additionalcards from the deck, the first selected card and the one or moreadditional cards forming a card pool; and the player using one of thelowest value card or the highest value card in the card pool tocalculate the modified dynamic asset value.
 7. The game mechanic methodof claim 6, further comprising the steps of: triggering an eventattribute requiring the game component and one or more of a plurality ofother game components to modify a dynamic asset value.
 8. The gamemechanic method of claim 6, further comprising the steps of: triggeringan event attribute requiring the player to restrict movement of the gamecomponent.
 9. A game mechanic method for playing a game contested by aplurality of players, comprising the steps of: providing a playingsurface; providing each player with a deck of cards, each deck havingsimilarly numbered cards; providing each player with control over one ormore miniature model figures; assigning one or more dynamic asset valuesto each miniature model figure; each player deploying their miniaturemodel figures on the playing surface; each player drawing a plurality ofcards from their deck to form a control hand; at least one playerinitiating an interaction between a first model and a second model, theinteraction governed by a dynamic asset of the first model and a dynamicasset of the second model; the player having control over the firstmodel selecting a first card from their deck and adding the number valueof the first card to the dynamic asset value of the first model toproduce an initial modified first dynamic asset value; the player havingcontrol over the second model selecting a first card from their deck andadding the number value of the first card to the dynamic asset of thesecond model to produce an initial modified second dynamic asset value;and comparing the initial modified first dynamic asset value with theinitial modified second dynamic asset value to determine a preliminaryresult of the interaction, according to a predetermined correspondencebetween possible results of the interaction and the magnitude ofdifference between the initial modified first dynamic asset value andthe initial modified second dynamic asset value.
 10. The game mechanicmethod of claim 9, further comprising the step of providing each playerthe option of cheating fate by replacing the selected first card fromthe deck with a card from the control hand and recalculating themodified dynamic asset value using the card from the control hand. 11.The game mechanic method of claim 9, further comprising the steps of:providing each player with a plurality of markers; and each playercontrolling at least one model having the option of selecting a secondcard from the deck and adding the value of the second selected card tothe modified dynamic asset value in return for the player discarding amarker.
 12. The game mechanic method of claim 9, further comprising thesteps of: specifying conditions which require a player to select one ormore additional cards from the deck, the first selected card and the oneor more additional cards forming a card pool; and the player using oneof the lowest value card or the highest value card in the card pool tocalculate the modified dynamic asset value, with the specifyingconditions defining the number of additional cards to add to the cardpool from the deck and whether the player uses the highest value card orthe lowest value card from the card pool.
 13. The game mechanic methodof claim 10, further comprising the steps of: providing each player witha plurality of markers; and each player controlling at least one modelhaving the option of selecting a second card from the deck and addingthe value of the second selected card to the modified dynamic assetvalue in return for the player discarding a marker.
 14. The gamemechanic method of claim 13, further comprising the steps of: specifyingconditions which require a player to select one or more additional cardsfrom the deck, the first selected card and the one or more additionalcards forming a card pool; and the player using one of the lowest valuecard or the highest value card in the card pool to calculate themodified dynamic asset value, with the specifying conditions definingthe number of additional cards to add to the card pool from the deck andwhether the player uses the highest value card or the lowest value cardfrom the card pool.
 15. The game mechanic method of claim 10, whereinthe result of the interaction further comprising the steps of:triggering an event of a first model requiring a second player to selectone or more additional cards from the deck, the first selected card andthe one or more additional cards forming a card pool; and the secondplayer using one of the lowest value card or the highest value card inthe card pool to calculate the modified dynamic asset value.
 16. Thegame mechanic method of claim 11, further comprising the steps of:specifying conditions which require a player to select one or moreadditional cards from the deck, the first selected card and the one ormore additional cards forming a card pool; and the player using one ofthe lowest value card or the highest value card in the card pool tocalculate the modified dynamic asset value, with the specifyingconditions defining the number of additional cards to add to the cardpool from the deck and whether the player uses the highest value card orthe lowest value card from the card pool.
 17. The game mechanic methodof claim 9, wherein the interaction comprises an attempt by the firstmodel to cause an effect upon the second model.
 18. The game mechanicmethod of claim 17, wherein the result of the interaction comprises theattempt either succeeding or failing.
 19. The game mechanic method ofclaim 18, further comprising the step of the result of the interactiontriggering a second effect.